TEXT OF LETTER TO CITIZENS OF FULTON COUNTY
January 3, 2011
Letter to the Citizens of Fulton County:
This letter is written in my capacity as Chief Judge on behalf of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit. On December 27, 2010 State Patrol Trooper Chadwick LeCroy lost his life in the line of duty. As a judge, I am prohibited from commenting on the circumstances associated with his death. However, I, and every judge in this Circuit, recognize that his death represents a grievous loss to his family and the State of Georgia.
The purpose of this letter is to provide accurate information and fulfill our duty to the public in providing transparency with respect to the Court's business as it relates to the release of Gregory Favors, the person charged with the shooting of Trooper LeCroy.
At or around 9:35 p.m. on December 10, 2010, Favors and a co-defendant, Mr. Larry Brown, were arrested by the Atlanta Police Department. Mr. Favors was arrested for the offenses of Entering Auto, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Tools to Commit a Crime and Obstruction. Mr. Brown was charged with Possession of Tools to Commit a Crime and Party to a Crime. Both were taken to the Fulton County Jail.
Due process under the Constitution requires that a person arrested without a warrant "have the probable cause for his or her continued detention reviewed by a neutral and detached magistrate as soon as reasonably feasible but, in any event, within 48 hours of arrest." Capestany v. State, 289 Ga. App. 47 (2007). The 48-hour constitutional requirement is a well settled principle of law, established two decades ago in the case of County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991). In Georgia, the constitutional mandate is also recognized by statute. OCGA 17-4-62 provides that any person who is arrested without a warrant and who is not brought before an appropriate judicial officer within 48 hours of arrest "shall be released." The 48-hour rule is clearly not "a self-imposed Fulton County judicial system deadline" as it has been characterized. It is mandatory.
The due process mandate to determine probable cause within 48 hours is fulfilled in Fulton County by having arrestees appear on a first appearance calendar before a magistrate at the Fulton County jail. The determination of probable cause is made by the arresting officer appearing before the magistrate and testifying to the circumstances of the arrest. If a defendant has been held for 48 hours and the arresting officer fails to appear at the calendar, the defendant must be released.
To determine probable cause, a magistrate must have something to review-either a warrant or the testimony of an arresting officer. The Court's records reflect that Mr. Favors' codefendant appeared before a magistrate within 48 hours of his arrest. There was no warrant presented to the magistrate and the arresting officer was not present. The magistrate was, therefore, required to release Mr. Brown. Had Mr. Favors been on the same calendar, he also would have been required to be released.
On December 13, Mr. Favors first appeared on a calendar. As of that point, he had been incarcerated pursuant to his warrantless arrest for more than 48 hours. When he appeared before the magistrate, no warrant had yet been obtained and the arresting officer was not present. Under those circumstances the magistrate before whom Mr. Favors appeared had no alternative but to comply with Georgia Law and the Constitution. For that reason, Mr. Favors was released.
The imposition of a signature bond on a defendant entitled to release is an attempt at a practical accommodation. It reflects an effort by the magistrate to maintain some control and contact with the arrestee until the arresting officer obtains an arrest warrant or the prosecuting agency issues an indictment. In this case, no warrant was obtained and no indictment issued after Mr. Favors' release pursuant to Riverside.
When Mr. Favors was released on December 13, 2010 it was not the result of judicial whim or an adherence to some arbitrary self-imposed rule. Rather, he was released because the judges and courts of this community have a duty to uphold the rule of law and comply with its requirements. It has also been suggested that had Mr. Favors received a different sentence in other proceedings or if his case had been heard through some other process, he would not have been on the streets. That suggestion reflects the reality that when a tragedy occurs, people want explanations. Hindsight is often the first tool reached for in an effort to provide an easy answer.
Fulton County, like many urban courts across the country, has developed a two-tiered system for adjudicating criminal cases. Less complex cases involving non-violent offenses are heard more quickly than more complex cases. Mr. Favors at the time of his arrest was not under indictment in a non-complex case. His release had therefore nothing to do with that program.
It is true that Mr. Favors had previous matters which were heard in Fulton County. Those cases were heard and sentences imposed based upon the facts and circumstances presented to the court at the time those decisions were made. Responsibility for the decisions rest with the decision makers. However, the propriety of those decisions can only be fairly judged in the context in which they were made based on the information provided to the Court.
Trooper LeCroy's death was tragic. The judges of this community believe that the people of Fulton County deserve a justice system that upholds the rule of law, seeks truth and does justice. On behalf of myself and all of the judges of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, I pledge that we will continue to do all we can to insure the public is protected and well-served. This includes our duty to be faithful to the law, even in difficult times.
Hon. Cynthia D. Wright, Chief Judge
Superior Court of Fulton County
Atlanta Judicial Circuit
cc: Mayor Kasim Reed, City of Atlanta
Chief George Turner, Atlanta Police Department
Chairman John H. Eaves, Fulton County Board of Commissioners
Fulton County Board of Commissioners
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard
Showing posts with label Jail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jail. Show all posts
Monday, January 3, 2011
Monday, October 25, 2010
Grant funds program to cut repeat offenses
Inmates selected to participate in Fulton County’s Second Chance Project will receive assistance while they are in the Fulton County Jail and for 18 months after their release. The services provided by the program will focus on helping participants change their behavior.
Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia Wright said that the program will bring needed additions to the state's effort to rehabilitate offenders.
"The Superior Court looks forward to working with our Justice System Partners, Chairman [John] Eaves and the County Commission in ensuring that the Second Chance Project is the first step toward improving offender outcomes and public safety," Judge Wright said.
By reducing recidivism, the Taskforce hopes to help inmates reclaim their lives, help the community with improved public safety, and help save taxpayer dollars. The Fulton County criminal justice system cost taxpayers approximately $221.9 million for 2010. Inmates released back to Fulton County from the state prison system have a 47% recidivism rate.
Fulton County is among 116 organizations in the U.S. – and one of only 17 counties – that will receive Second Chance Act funding this year. The grant allows for an annual renewal for the amount received for up to three years.
The grant was developed by the Fulton County Reentry Taskforce, headed by Fulton County Chairman John H. Eaves, with support from key justice system officials, including District Attorney Paul Howard, Sheriff Ted Jackson, Chief Judge Wright, Public Defender Vernon Pitts, and state agencies including the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Georgia Department of Pardons and Paroles, and the Georgia Department of Labor. Nonprofit and education partners include the Atlanta and Fulton County School systems, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, the Georgia Justice Project, Atlanta Metropolitan College and the Atlanta Technical College, Community Voices and the Morehouse School of Medicine.
"Our Second Chance grant award validates the process we have undertaken -- to bring everyone to the table to identify the best ways to address the public safety challenges we all face in Fulton County,” said Fulton Commission Chairman Eaves.
###
source: Fulton County news release Oct. 22, 2010
More details at: Second Chance Program Fact Sheet
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Court Security Projects Funded
On Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010 the Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted to include major improvements to the security of Fulton Courts in a federal bond issue.
The 5-2 vote capped two weeks of negotiations between county and judicial leaders to reinstate $5.4 million in previously approved projects to improve security at the county's Juvenile Court and create a state-of-the-art security command center in the Fulton Court Complex.
The security changes were among improvements a Governor's Commission on Court Security recommended in 2006 following a shooting spree at the Fulton Court Complex in which a Superior Court Judge, court reporter and Deputy were killed by an escaping defendant in a rape case.
The $26 million bond project also includes lighting, building maintenance and roof replacement of a senior center. Other items approved Wednesday include a job training center near the Fulton County jail, a prisoner reentry center for prisoners coming out of Georgia prisons, an arts center roof replacement, and bus stop lighting and street security cameras. A health center would be renovated to increase services and the aviation community center at the county's airport in the Fulton Industrial Boulevard area.
The 5-2 vote capped two weeks of negotiations between county and judicial leaders to reinstate $5.4 million in previously approved projects to improve security at the county's Juvenile Court and create a state-of-the-art security command center in the Fulton Court Complex.
The security changes were among improvements a Governor's Commission on Court Security recommended in 2006 following a shooting spree at the Fulton Court Complex in which a Superior Court Judge, court reporter and Deputy were killed by an escaping defendant in a rape case.
The $26 million bond project also includes lighting, building maintenance and roof replacement of a senior center. Other items approved Wednesday include a job training center near the Fulton County jail, a prisoner reentry center for prisoners coming out of Georgia prisons, an arts center roof replacement, and bus stop lighting and street security cameras. A health center would be renovated to increase services and the aviation community center at the county's airport in the Fulton Industrial Boulevard area.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Clearing the Backlog
Read about how our Court is innovating ways to improve access to justice and enhance public safety by resolving older cases.
________________________________________
Friday, June 11, 2010
Fulton clears 239 backlogged cases
Federally funded program helps save money and resolve cases that have been stalled for at least one year
By Greg Land, Staff Reporter
In a near-empty Fulton County courtroom, Northeastern Circuit Senior Judge John E. Girardeau listened attentively as Public Defender Richard W. Marks summed up his case: no 911 tapes, no "independent" witnesses—true, the assault victim had been photographed with bruises on her face, but she may have inflicted the injuries to herself in order to frame her boyfriend, to "pay him back" for cheating on her.
Rising to deliver his own closing remarks, Fulton County Assistant District Attorney David J. Studdard dismissed Marks' arguments as "preposterous" and expressed astonishment that his opponent could make them with a straight face.
Girardeau then issued his instructions to the jury, sending them out to deliberate as one more of the county's backlogged cases ground toward an end.
One of eight senior judges assigned to the Superior Court's Backlog Reduction Program, Girardeau had first become involved in State v. Stewart just two days earlier. Pretrial motions, plea negotiations and witness issues had all been ironed out earlier.
"When they say it's scheduled for trial week, you can count on it being ready for trial," said Girardeau, who took senior status in 2005.
"That's different from a judge handling a regular calendar, where there often other things that can cause delays," he said.
Since last September, the program has led to resolution of 239 complex felony cases that had left nearly 189 criminal defendants languishing in the Fulton County Jail for more than a year—often much longer than that, according to Fulton County Superior Court statistics.
Funded by $1.2 million in federal stimulus money, the program has churned through the backlog mainly through plea deals, with the toughest cases going to trial before designated teams of prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and support staff.
The cumulative total for the amount of time those defendants spent in jail before trial: 83,294 days, or more than 228 years, according to the court.
"These are people who have been sitting in jail at a cost of $72 a day," said Fulton County Superior Court Senior Judge Stephanie B. Manis, "while I understand it costs about $40 a day to keep them in state prison." She was citing data from Fulton County Sheriff Theodore "Ted" Jackson.
While saving the county taxpayers money by moving the cases is important, noted Manis, it's also important to resolve the cases in the interest of justice: There have been some not-guilty verdicts, and several of the cases—mostly those involving lower mandatory minimum sentences or lower-level felonies—have been dead-docketed.
Manis has been overseeing the program since its inception, and before that had been working on another backlog case project.
The cases, some of which involve defendants who have been jailed since 2006, fall into four categories:
•murder;
•mandatory plus, in which convictions on charges including aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sodomy, kidnapping with bodily injury, kidnapping a victim under 14 years of age and rape are punishable by a mandatory minimum 25 years in prison;
•mandatory, in which convictions for armed robbery, hijacking, kidnapping, trafficking and offenses that require inclusion upon Georgia's sex offender registry are punishable by a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison; and
•other, which includes offenses such as aggravated assault and aggravated battery, punishable by one to 20 years in prison, and child molestation, punishable by five to 20 years, among others.
Manis said several factors contribute to these "tough to resolve" cases.
"I think you have a higher number of cases with defendants with mental health issues," she said. "There are a large number of crimes against women and children, and a larger number of cases with the high mandatory sentences."
As the General Assembly has steadily increased such sentences and the number of crimes to which they apply, she said, defendants are more likely to roll the dice on a jury trial than to accept a plea.
"With these 25- and 30-year sentences, there's much less advantage to someone going on the record and expressing remorse," she said. "We predict about 80 percent will go to trial."
Other reasons for the backlog involve cases with multiple defendants and attorneys, cases that are on appeal or those that have already resulted in a mistrial. But Manis said the most common reason cited for the dust-gathering cases is "court congestion."
Manis has drawn upon several years' worth of a court consultant's recommendations for criminal case management to put together her own informal bench book and recommendations for the lawyers, judges and staff who work the backlog cases.
She has so far relegated the actual trials to the other judges, busying herself with reviewing cases, hearing motions and conducting meetings, disposing of the cases she can and getting the others ready for trial so a judge can simply walk into court and begin voir dire.
"I talk to everybody," she said, telling the backlog defendants and the victims, "it's taking a long time, and we need move this case along."
The Georgia Legislature has slashed most state funding for senior judges, and Superior Court Administrator Judith Cramer credits officials in Fulton municipalities for letting some of their own federal funds be used for the project.
"It wouldn't have been possible without the chiefs of police, city managers and council members of the Fulton County cities," said Cramer, explaining that the funds came from a federal Justice Assistance Grant to the cities last year.
"The money was to be shared with law enforcement. I met with a group of [city officials] and asked if they'd give me some of their money," said Cramer.
While funds have been made available nationwide to hire more police officers, "judges, prosecutors, public defenders and clerks are often left out of the equation," she said. "But the more boots on the ground, the more arrests are made."
Cramer likened the resulting surge in arrests on already swollen criminal dockets to a snake eating a large animal.
"You've got this large lump moving through the snake, and what you've got is a snake with indigestion," she said.
With total funding of $1,235,493, the program pays for 20 positions, incuding two senior judges and a three-member staff; two senior prosecutors, two investigators and a legal assistant; three public defenders and a defense investigator; four staff members from the clerk of the Superior Court's office and two staff members from the Sheriff's Department.
The judges' duties rotate between Manis, Girardeau and Senior Fulton County Judges Isaac Jenrette and Elizabeth E. Long; Senior Cobb County Judge Michael Stoddard; and Senior DeKalb County Judges Robert P. Mallis and Anne Workman. Senior Cherokee Circuit Superior Court Judge Tom Pope was originally involved but has since withdrawn, said Manis.
The program was staffed and operational in September, and Cramer said that the funding is projected to run out about mid-December. After that, she's hoping the county, state and/or federal governments might be willing to help keep it alive.
The program gets high marks from those involved.
"One of the great things about the backlog program is that we're able to jump right on our clients' cases," said Marks, the public defender in the case before Girardeau who is one of three Fulton County public defenders assigned to the program.
The ability to have cases prepared by one judge then, if necessary, sent to another for trial enables quick handling, said Marks.
"Our job is to make sure that everything that has to be done is done," he said, "as opposed to just letting them just keep sitting on the shelf."
While the public defenders handle most of the cases, he said, "everything's on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, the original attorney on the case [whether assigned or private], will come to backlog and represent the defendant. In others, the original lawyer will pass his file to us. There's no bright-line rule."
The state has provided seasoned prosecutors, and the cases move as smoothly as can be expected, said Marks.
"No system is perfect," said Marks, "but [the program] does a great job, and the goals set out have been attained."
Prosecutor Studdard deferred comment to Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr., who lauded the program even as he repeated his own complaints about the handling of cases in the Superior Court.
"My assessment is that Judge Manis and the lawyers and the PDs have done an outstanding job," said Howard. "A lot of the credit goes to Judge Manis, who has single-handedly engineered this effort to reduce the backlog cases."
But Howard—who has seen a string of criminal cases fall apart when defendants sought speedy trial dismissals, often in cases in which multiple judges have been assigned a case as the years tick by—said there still need to be courtwide standards for handling cases.
Howard acknowledges that the court has adopted several innovations that have streamlined case-flow to some extent, including specialty courts designed to weed out defendants who have drug and mental health issues; a fast-track program to move lower-level drug and property crime cases swiftly; and a recent pilot program to create separate criminal and civil divisions in the Superior Court.
"This is the fourth backlog effort we have been involved in," said Howard. "Even though this is successful, the number of people in the backlog cases and the number of people in jail remains relatively the same."
Howard called for "an organizational change that will affect the superior, state and magistrate courts, all attacking the same priorities: the numbers of people in jail and awaiting trial.
"Second," he said, "all of the cases in our superior court system should be tried within a certain number of days."
While the criminal justice system in Fulton does suffer from a lack of sufficient resources, he said, "I regard those questions about resources being anecdotal. Unless there is an organizational approach, there will not be overall change. Activity is not the same as achievement."
Cramer, who recently announced she would leave her post, said that one of the goals of the project is to set precisely such goals and caseload standards, which can then be adopted by the entire Fulton County bench.
"The problem now is setting up the system so it doesn't happen again," she said. "We want to develop standards relating to case management. We already have standards for fast-track felonies, but it's much more difficult for the complex cases."
Even so, she noted, there are 19—soon to be 20—elected judges on the Superior Court bench, and "as in any legal culture, there will be specific areas of concern," she said.
"And we simply do not have enough judges, DAs or PDs," she said. "It's a good program, but it won't solve the problem. We have 19 judges now; we need 32 just to do the job."
Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia D. Wright said the court has requested $140,000 in additional funds from the county to continue the program. The request was among several from the county's justice system that were removed from the Fulton County Commission's June 2 agenda; according to Fulton County Superior Court spokesman Don Plummer, it will again be on the agenda for the June 16 meeting.
"We continue to explore other possible avenues for continued funding of the backlog," said Wright via an e-mail.
Howard said he, too, is hoping to keep the program alive.
Lengthy delays are "unfair for defendants, and even more unfair for victims," he said.
________________________________________
Friday, June 11, 2010
Fulton clears 239 backlogged cases
Federally funded program helps save money and resolve cases that have been stalled for at least one year
By Greg Land, Staff Reporter
In a near-empty Fulton County courtroom, Northeastern Circuit Senior Judge John E. Girardeau listened attentively as Public Defender Richard W. Marks summed up his case: no 911 tapes, no "independent" witnesses—true, the assault victim had been photographed with bruises on her face, but she may have inflicted the injuries to herself in order to frame her boyfriend, to "pay him back" for cheating on her.
Rising to deliver his own closing remarks, Fulton County Assistant District Attorney David J. Studdard dismissed Marks' arguments as "preposterous" and expressed astonishment that his opponent could make them with a straight face.
Girardeau then issued his instructions to the jury, sending them out to deliberate as one more of the county's backlogged cases ground toward an end.
One of eight senior judges assigned to the Superior Court's Backlog Reduction Program, Girardeau had first become involved in State v. Stewart just two days earlier. Pretrial motions, plea negotiations and witness issues had all been ironed out earlier.
"When they say it's scheduled for trial week, you can count on it being ready for trial," said Girardeau, who took senior status in 2005.
"That's different from a judge handling a regular calendar, where there often other things that can cause delays," he said.
Since last September, the program has led to resolution of 239 complex felony cases that had left nearly 189 criminal defendants languishing in the Fulton County Jail for more than a year—often much longer than that, according to Fulton County Superior Court statistics.
Funded by $1.2 million in federal stimulus money, the program has churned through the backlog mainly through plea deals, with the toughest cases going to trial before designated teams of prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and support staff.
The cumulative total for the amount of time those defendants spent in jail before trial: 83,294 days, or more than 228 years, according to the court.
"These are people who have been sitting in jail at a cost of $72 a day," said Fulton County Superior Court Senior Judge Stephanie B. Manis, "while I understand it costs about $40 a day to keep them in state prison." She was citing data from Fulton County Sheriff Theodore "Ted" Jackson.
While saving the county taxpayers money by moving the cases is important, noted Manis, it's also important to resolve the cases in the interest of justice: There have been some not-guilty verdicts, and several of the cases—mostly those involving lower mandatory minimum sentences or lower-level felonies—have been dead-docketed.
Manis has been overseeing the program since its inception, and before that had been working on another backlog case project.
The cases, some of which involve defendants who have been jailed since 2006, fall into four categories:
•murder;
•mandatory plus, in which convictions on charges including aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sodomy, kidnapping with bodily injury, kidnapping a victim under 14 years of age and rape are punishable by a mandatory minimum 25 years in prison;
•mandatory, in which convictions for armed robbery, hijacking, kidnapping, trafficking and offenses that require inclusion upon Georgia's sex offender registry are punishable by a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison; and
•other, which includes offenses such as aggravated assault and aggravated battery, punishable by one to 20 years in prison, and child molestation, punishable by five to 20 years, among others.
Manis said several factors contribute to these "tough to resolve" cases.
"I think you have a higher number of cases with defendants with mental health issues," she said. "There are a large number of crimes against women and children, and a larger number of cases with the high mandatory sentences."
As the General Assembly has steadily increased such sentences and the number of crimes to which they apply, she said, defendants are more likely to roll the dice on a jury trial than to accept a plea.
"With these 25- and 30-year sentences, there's much less advantage to someone going on the record and expressing remorse," she said. "We predict about 80 percent will go to trial."
Other reasons for the backlog involve cases with multiple defendants and attorneys, cases that are on appeal or those that have already resulted in a mistrial. But Manis said the most common reason cited for the dust-gathering cases is "court congestion."
Manis has drawn upon several years' worth of a court consultant's recommendations for criminal case management to put together her own informal bench book and recommendations for the lawyers, judges and staff who work the backlog cases.
She has so far relegated the actual trials to the other judges, busying herself with reviewing cases, hearing motions and conducting meetings, disposing of the cases she can and getting the others ready for trial so a judge can simply walk into court and begin voir dire.
"I talk to everybody," she said, telling the backlog defendants and the victims, "it's taking a long time, and we need move this case along."
The Georgia Legislature has slashed most state funding for senior judges, and Superior Court Administrator Judith Cramer credits officials in Fulton municipalities for letting some of their own federal funds be used for the project.
"It wouldn't have been possible without the chiefs of police, city managers and council members of the Fulton County cities," said Cramer, explaining that the funds came from a federal Justice Assistance Grant to the cities last year.
"The money was to be shared with law enforcement. I met with a group of [city officials] and asked if they'd give me some of their money," said Cramer.
While funds have been made available nationwide to hire more police officers, "judges, prosecutors, public defenders and clerks are often left out of the equation," she said. "But the more boots on the ground, the more arrests are made."
Cramer likened the resulting surge in arrests on already swollen criminal dockets to a snake eating a large animal.
"You've got this large lump moving through the snake, and what you've got is a snake with indigestion," she said.
With total funding of $1,235,493, the program pays for 20 positions, incuding two senior judges and a three-member staff; two senior prosecutors, two investigators and a legal assistant; three public defenders and a defense investigator; four staff members from the clerk of the Superior Court's office and two staff members from the Sheriff's Department.
The judges' duties rotate between Manis, Girardeau and Senior Fulton County Judges Isaac Jenrette and Elizabeth E. Long; Senior Cobb County Judge Michael Stoddard; and Senior DeKalb County Judges Robert P. Mallis and Anne Workman. Senior Cherokee Circuit Superior Court Judge Tom Pope was originally involved but has since withdrawn, said Manis.
The program was staffed and operational in September, and Cramer said that the funding is projected to run out about mid-December. After that, she's hoping the county, state and/or federal governments might be willing to help keep it alive.
The program gets high marks from those involved.
"One of the great things about the backlog program is that we're able to jump right on our clients' cases," said Marks, the public defender in the case before Girardeau who is one of three Fulton County public defenders assigned to the program.
The ability to have cases prepared by one judge then, if necessary, sent to another for trial enables quick handling, said Marks.
"Our job is to make sure that everything that has to be done is done," he said, "as opposed to just letting them just keep sitting on the shelf."
While the public defenders handle most of the cases, he said, "everything's on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, the original attorney on the case [whether assigned or private], will come to backlog and represent the defendant. In others, the original lawyer will pass his file to us. There's no bright-line rule."
The state has provided seasoned prosecutors, and the cases move as smoothly as can be expected, said Marks.
"No system is perfect," said Marks, "but [the program] does a great job, and the goals set out have been attained."
Prosecutor Studdard deferred comment to Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr., who lauded the program even as he repeated his own complaints about the handling of cases in the Superior Court.
"My assessment is that Judge Manis and the lawyers and the PDs have done an outstanding job," said Howard. "A lot of the credit goes to Judge Manis, who has single-handedly engineered this effort to reduce the backlog cases."
But Howard—who has seen a string of criminal cases fall apart when defendants sought speedy trial dismissals, often in cases in which multiple judges have been assigned a case as the years tick by—said there still need to be courtwide standards for handling cases.
Howard acknowledges that the court has adopted several innovations that have streamlined case-flow to some extent, including specialty courts designed to weed out defendants who have drug and mental health issues; a fast-track program to move lower-level drug and property crime cases swiftly; and a recent pilot program to create separate criminal and civil divisions in the Superior Court.
"This is the fourth backlog effort we have been involved in," said Howard. "Even though this is successful, the number of people in the backlog cases and the number of people in jail remains relatively the same."
Howard called for "an organizational change that will affect the superior, state and magistrate courts, all attacking the same priorities: the numbers of people in jail and awaiting trial.
"Second," he said, "all of the cases in our superior court system should be tried within a certain number of days."
While the criminal justice system in Fulton does suffer from a lack of sufficient resources, he said, "I regard those questions about resources being anecdotal. Unless there is an organizational approach, there will not be overall change. Activity is not the same as achievement."
Cramer, who recently announced she would leave her post, said that one of the goals of the project is to set precisely such goals and caseload standards, which can then be adopted by the entire Fulton County bench.
"The problem now is setting up the system so it doesn't happen again," she said. "We want to develop standards relating to case management. We already have standards for fast-track felonies, but it's much more difficult for the complex cases."
Even so, she noted, there are 19—soon to be 20—elected judges on the Superior Court bench, and "as in any legal culture, there will be specific areas of concern," she said.
"And we simply do not have enough judges, DAs or PDs," she said. "It's a good program, but it won't solve the problem. We have 19 judges now; we need 32 just to do the job."
Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Cynthia D. Wright said the court has requested $140,000 in additional funds from the county to continue the program. The request was among several from the county's justice system that were removed from the Fulton County Commission's June 2 agenda; according to Fulton County Superior Court spokesman Don Plummer, it will again be on the agenda for the June 16 meeting.
"We continue to explore other possible avenues for continued funding of the backlog," said Wright via an e-mail.
Howard said he, too, is hoping to keep the program alive.
Lengthy delays are "unfair for defendants, and even more unfair for victims," he said.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Speak Out: Let Fulton Commissioners Know You Support Safer Communities
Your comments are sought on the Fulton County 2010 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Proposal.
Deadline is 5:00 p.m., Monday, May 31st, 2010
Fulton County residents are invited to comment on a grant application that will help Fulton pay for activities that prevent and control crime.
Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. is the deadline to submit comments on the Fulton County 2009 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program proposal. JAG helps governments thwart crime by funding local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice.
It is anticipated that this grant application will be placed on the Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 Board of Commissioners Recess Meeting Agenda.
Fulton County is required by the U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Justice Programs to solicit citizen comments on the JAG proposed projects.
Copies of the complete JAG application, which has details, are at the Fulton County Department of Finance, 141 Pryor Street, S.W., Suite 7001, Atlanta, GA, 30303
Comments must be sent online or in writing to the attention of Joe Trachtenberg Grants Development Manager, Fulton County,mailto:joe.trachtenberg@fultoncountga.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by mail to the above-listed address.
Deadline is 5:00 p.m., Monday, May 31st, 2010
Fulton County residents are invited to comment on a grant application that will help Fulton pay for activities that prevent and control crime.
Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. is the deadline to submit comments on the Fulton County 2009 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program proposal. JAG helps governments thwart crime by funding local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice.
It is anticipated that this grant application will be placed on the Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 Board of Commissioners Recess Meeting Agenda.
Fulton County is required by the U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Justice Programs to solicit citizen comments on the JAG proposed projects.
Copies of the complete JAG application, which has details, are at the Fulton County Department of Finance, 141 Pryor Street, S.W., Suite 7001, Atlanta, GA, 30303
Comments must be sent online or in writing to the attention of Joe Trachtenberg Grants Development Manager, Fulton County,mailto:joe.trachtenberg@fultoncountga.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by mail to the above-listed address.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Judicial Leaders Work Until Last Minute to Save Public Safety Improvements from Fulton Budget Axe
Leaders of the Fulton County Georgia judicial system on Tuesday continued their effort to get county officials to restore $4.2 million cut from the system’s 2010 budget. The cuts include $2.4 million in operating costs and $1.8 million in staff vacancies for the Superior Court, Clerk of Superior Court, District Attorney, Public Defender, State, Probate and Juvenile courts, Solicitor General and Marshal’s office.
If these cuts are restored judicial system leaders told county officials they will be able to:
• Continue the Fast Track felony case management system that has cut the time it takes to complete non-violent property and drug cases to just 45 days.
• Continue the current number of participants in the county’s successful Drug and Mental Health Courts.
• Continue the highly effective, cost-saving pretrial supervision program that gets 97 percent of felony defendants to all court hearings without new charges.
• Continue a new intensive pretrial supervision program that reduced jail expenses by $3.5 million from April through December 2009.
• Prepare for a major anticipated increase in criminal cases from hundreds of new Atlanta Police Officers being hired through a federal COPS Grant.
• Drastically reduce the Fulton Jail population by July 1, 2010.
• Prepare a plan to increase revenues and collections from fines and fees.
• Prepare a plan to consolidate duplicative judicial system offices.
The Fulton justice system cannot control its incoming “inventory” of murder, rape, robbery and burglary cases so justice system leaders must be allowed to continue programs that out-produce the offending population to keep the county safe.
Judicial system leaders are working together to coordinate prevention, protection, restoration, correction and punishment efforts but cuts prevent them from keeping up with incoming cases, much less the increase anticipated from deploying additional Atlanta Police Officers.
Judicial leaders say restoring these funds will produce immediate savings by reducing the number of defendants in the county jail.
Failing to adequately fund the judicial system will swell the county’s jail population, greatly increasing the cost to taxpayers for housing, feeding and caring for pretrial defendants.
Key Points of the Judicial System Plan to enhance public safety and increase access to justice for families, children and businesses.
• Fast Track Felony Case Processing
• Pretrial Release Supervision
• Jail Population Reduction Plan
• Elimination of Duplicated Services
• Increased Fee and Fine Revenue
If these cuts are restored judicial system leaders told county officials they will be able to:
• Continue the Fast Track felony case management system that has cut the time it takes to complete non-violent property and drug cases to just 45 days.
• Continue the current number of participants in the county’s successful Drug and Mental Health Courts.
• Continue the highly effective, cost-saving pretrial supervision program that gets 97 percent of felony defendants to all court hearings without new charges.
• Continue a new intensive pretrial supervision program that reduced jail expenses by $3.5 million from April through December 2009.
• Prepare for a major anticipated increase in criminal cases from hundreds of new Atlanta Police Officers being hired through a federal COPS Grant.
• Drastically reduce the Fulton Jail population by July 1, 2010.
• Prepare a plan to increase revenues and collections from fines and fees.
• Prepare a plan to consolidate duplicative judicial system offices.
The Fulton justice system cannot control its incoming “inventory” of murder, rape, robbery and burglary cases so justice system leaders must be allowed to continue programs that out-produce the offending population to keep the county safe.
Judicial system leaders are working together to coordinate prevention, protection, restoration, correction and punishment efforts but cuts prevent them from keeping up with incoming cases, much less the increase anticipated from deploying additional Atlanta Police Officers.
Judicial leaders say restoring these funds will produce immediate savings by reducing the number of defendants in the county jail.
Failing to adequately fund the judicial system will swell the county’s jail population, greatly increasing the cost to taxpayers for housing, feeding and caring for pretrial defendants.
Key Points of the Judicial System Plan to enhance public safety and increase access to justice for families, children and businesses.
• Fast Track Felony Case Processing
• Pretrial Release Supervision
• Jail Population Reduction Plan
• Elimination of Duplicated Services
• Increased Fee and Fine Revenue
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Fulton County budget cuts may add to county expenses
Fulton County Commissioners on Wednesday are set to adopt a budget for 2010 that may cut cost-saving programs that will add to overall expenses for the county, according to Fulton’s Chief Judge.
A 10 percent across-the-board cut on top of a 4 percent employee pay decrease tentatively approved by Commissioner in December will force reductions or elimination of diversion programs that will funnel more than 1,000 defendants back into the county’s already overcrowded jail, said Chief Fulton Superior Court Judge Doris L. Downs.
“If we must eliminate or drastically reduce our Drug and Mental Health Courts and our supervised pretrial release programs we cannot allow the defendants in these programs to remain on the street unsupervised,” Downs said Monday during a meeting of program administrators. Up to 30 Superior Court employees could be fired to meet the county goal, she said. Other equally large numbers of employees could be fired from the District Attorney, Public Defender and Clerk of Court.
Upwards of 1700 defendants are currently supervised by these programs at a drastically lower cost per day than incarceration in the county jail. For example, defendants on supervised pretrial release cost the county $5 a day. Drug and Mental Health Court defendants are supervised for $23 a day. Jailing inmates costs a minimum of $72 a day.
Superior Court Administrator Judy Cramer said every cost saving effort has already been taken and all that’s left to cut are jobs.
“Wednesday is the last chance for the Commission to take into account the true impact of cuts of this magnitude,” Cramer said. Layoff letters are being readied in case the Commission holds fast to the 10-percent cuts. “We must deliver the letters by Monday in order for our employees to have time to explore other positions within the county and receive assistance from human resources with filing for unemployment and other benefits,” she said.
Downs and Cramer have met with individual commissioners and county executives and laid out an alternative plan that would cut the jail population in half by July, but that plan requires funding the judicial system at its current level. The extra personnel to process additional cases would be paid for by an existing federal stimulus grant received by the court last year, Downs said.
Keep up to date on official Fulton Superior Court news at: http://fultoncourtinfo.blogspot.com/
A 10 percent across-the-board cut on top of a 4 percent employee pay decrease tentatively approved by Commissioner in December will force reductions or elimination of diversion programs that will funnel more than 1,000 defendants back into the county’s already overcrowded jail, said Chief Fulton Superior Court Judge Doris L. Downs.
“If we must eliminate or drastically reduce our Drug and Mental Health Courts and our supervised pretrial release programs we cannot allow the defendants in these programs to remain on the street unsupervised,” Downs said Monday during a meeting of program administrators. Up to 30 Superior Court employees could be fired to meet the county goal, she said. Other equally large numbers of employees could be fired from the District Attorney, Public Defender and Clerk of Court.
Upwards of 1700 defendants are currently supervised by these programs at a drastically lower cost per day than incarceration in the county jail. For example, defendants on supervised pretrial release cost the county $5 a day. Drug and Mental Health Court defendants are supervised for $23 a day. Jailing inmates costs a minimum of $72 a day.
Superior Court Administrator Judy Cramer said every cost saving effort has already been taken and all that’s left to cut are jobs.
“Wednesday is the last chance for the Commission to take into account the true impact of cuts of this magnitude,” Cramer said. Layoff letters are being readied in case the Commission holds fast to the 10-percent cuts. “We must deliver the letters by Monday in order for our employees to have time to explore other positions within the county and receive assistance from human resources with filing for unemployment and other benefits,” she said.
Downs and Cramer have met with individual commissioners and county executives and laid out an alternative plan that would cut the jail population in half by July, but that plan requires funding the judicial system at its current level. The extra personnel to process additional cases would be paid for by an existing federal stimulus grant received by the court last year, Downs said.
###
Keep up to date on official Fulton Superior Court news at: http://fultoncourtinfo.blogspot.com/
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Keep The Courts Open
Funding cuts threaten public safety and access to the courts for businesses, families and children
Keep The Courts Open: Protect public safety for Fulton County Georgia residents and businesses who use our courts!
Sign the petition: http://bit.ly/KeepCourtsOpen
Keep The Courts Open: Protect public safety for Fulton County Georgia residents and businesses who use our courts!
Sign the petition: http://bit.ly/KeepCourtsOpen
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Justice Plan Would Slash Jail Population
Faster Case Processing Key to 54 Percent Reduction
ATLANTA – The Chief Judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit has proposed that Fulton County Commissioners approve a cost-saving plan that would greatly reduce the population of the overcrowded Fulton County Jail.
“Our strategy is to dramatically reduce the jail population from 2606 (outsourcing and main jail population) to 1200 by July 1st of 2010,” Chief Superior Court Judge Doris L. Downs wrote in an email sent Tuesday to Fulton Commissioners.
The Fulton County Jail, which is under federal court order to reduce the jail’s population to some 2200, is the largest single item in the Fulton County Justice System budget. Each day an inmate is held at the jail costs the county a minimum of $72. The county also must pay to house excess inmates above the court-ordered maximum in other Georgia jails.
Fulton justice system officials were notified on Nov. 18 that their portion of the county’s 2010 budget, which begins Jan. 1, would have to be cut by 25 percent or some $55 million. Chief Judge Downs and Fulton County District Attorney Paul L Howard Jr. and other justice system officials responded by saying that absorbing cuts of that magnitude would devastate each agency individually and have unacceptable systemic repercussions.
On Dec. 9, County budget officials returned with a proposal that the criminal justice system be cut by 11.7% or $25.4 million. Meeting almost daily since then justice system officials fashioned a plan that Judge Downs said will meet the county’s goal, if the justice system is allowed to retain current funding levels.
“We are proposing expediting the processing of the criminal cases in the next 6 months so that the jail population is reduced to 1200 inmates by July 1st of 2010. We believe that this goal is attainable but only if we are able to retain our employees and re-engineer the way we work together,” she wrote. “In short, we are prepared to run a marathon to achieve the savings needed through the jail budget. This is the only way we see to achieve savings without crippling our justice system. We cannot run the marathon without our legs---our employees!”
Fulton Commissioners are expected to consider the justice system proposal at a 10 a.m. Wednesday meeting.
Following is the full text of Chief Judge Down’s letter to Commissioners and the justice system’s jail reduction strategy:
As the Administrative Judge of this State's Fifth Judicial District as well as the Chief Judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, I am proposing on behalf of the Fulton County Justice System that we be allowed to present a plan for achieving the budget cuts required of our justice system. Our plan is attached. Our strategy is to dramatically reduce the jail population from 2606 (outsourcing and main jail population) to 1200 by July 1st of 2010.
We are aware that Fulton County is facing a serious budget shortfall. At present, it is my understanding that all County budgets are facing a cut of approximately 1.7% consisting of the unpaid holidays for all employees in 2010. At present, the justice system partners have been asked to cut an additional 10% from their budgets.
The Clerk of the Superior Court will have to eliminate 33 temporary positions and 18 permanent positions ($1.5 million). The District Attorney will have to eliminate 20 temporary positions and 30 permanent positions OR take 48 furlough days (one day each week) which amounts to a 25% pay cut for all DA employees. ($2.2 million) The Public Defender will have to eliminate 15 positions ($1.57 million).The Superior Court will have to eliminate at least 15 employees and as of yet an undetermined number of additional layoffs. We will lose employees in programs that save the county money such as Pretrial, Drug Court, Mental Health Court ($2.475 million).
As you are aware each of the justice agencies are closely connected in that an impact on any one of our budgets impacts our ability as a whole to move the business. We are truly all part of the same pipeline with no control over the numbers of cases coming in. If the 10 percent cuts are taken from each budget in January of 2010, our ability to process the criminal, domestic and civil cases will be significantly affected. This will no doubt result in a sharp increase in the jail population and a sharp increase in costs to the taxpayer. This will certainly not achieve the savings that are needed in the coming year's budget.
We have been meeting non-stop since we learned of the budget shortfall in order to present a plan that will save the county significant money without dismantling our justice system. We are proposing expediting the processing of the criminal cases in the next 6 months so that the jail population is reduced to 1200 inmates by July 1st of 2010. We believe that this goal is attainable but only if we are able to retain our employees and re-engineer the way we work together. If we are forced to eliminate critical employees, the cost to the County will increase with the resulting increase in the jail population.
In short, we are prepared to run a marathon to achieve the savings needed through the jail budget. This is the only way we see to achieve savings without crippling our justice system. We cannot run the marathon without our legs---our employees! Please carefully consider our proposal. We are continuing to meet to improve the proposal. All of us are available if you should have any questions.
The Fulton County Jail, when built, was widely criticized as being too small for the Fulton County criminal population.
Overcrowding at the jail has led to several lawsuits including the current consent decree.
The inability of the system to dispose of cases has exacerbated the jail overcrowding problem.
The Justice Management Institute, a leading criminal justice system consultant, identified as one of the key elements to lasting system improvement, the need to set goals regarding the Fulton County jail population and composition.
On November 18, 2009, the Fulton County Budget Commission announced that for FY2010 it was expected that current expenditures would drastically exceed expected revenue (-$146 million) requiring an across-the-board 25% reduction in county budgets.
Collectively, the Criminal Justice System was asked to reduce budgetary expenditures by $55 million — translating to 980 positions.
Absorbing cuts of this magnitude would devastate each department individually and have systemic repercussions.
Through exploring other cost-saving mechanisms, the Budget Commission announced on December 9, 2009, the criminal justice system portion of budget reductions would amount to 11.7% or $25.4 million.
This current financial crisis has inspired a willingness among all Fulton County criminal justice agencies to identify systemic ways to save money without adversely impacting individual departments and the criminal justice system.
What follows are the Fulton County Criminal Justice System cost-saving recommendations and strategies.
Remove inmates convicted of state crimes from the Fulton County Jail after a maximum period of ten (10) days.
Eliminate the outsourcing of inmates by February 1, 2010 (savings of $8 million).
Establish jail case processing standards such that each category of inmate has a time frame for housing which cannot be exceeded (see Case Processing Standards).
Implement a Temporary Emergency Court to reduce the jail population by 1,300 inmates by July 1, 2010 (savings of $15 million through food/health contracts and the elimination of vacant positions).
Support the acquisition of the City of Atlanta Jail so that the facility can be used as the initial screening location for defendants and a portion of the facility can be used to create a restitution center where all low-risk Fulton County Jail inmates could be transferred.
Establish a multi-departmental jail reduction team to work with the Sheriff’s staff to monitor the jail population on a daily basis in order to maintain the jail population at 1,200 inmates.
Failure to reduce the jail population as outlined will result in a 10% across-the-board budget reduction for all Fulton County criminal justice agencies beginning July 1, 2010.
Death penalty – 2 years
Maximum Complex Felony Cases – 365 days
Medium Complex Felony Cases – 280 days
Mildly Complex Felony Cases – 120 days
Non Complex Felony Cases – 60 days
Misdemeanor Maximum Complex Violent Cases – 60 days
Misdemeanor Medium Complex Cases – 30 days
All other Misdemeanor cases – 48 hours
Doris (Dee) Downs
Chief Judge, Superior Court
Ted Jackson
Sheriff, Fulton County
Cathelene “Tina” Robinson
Clerk, Superior Court
Paul L. Howard, Jr.
District Attorney
Vernon Pitts
Public Defender
Albert Thompson
Chief Judge, State Court
ATLANTA – The Chief Judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit has proposed that Fulton County Commissioners approve a cost-saving plan that would greatly reduce the population of the overcrowded Fulton County Jail.
“Our strategy is to dramatically reduce the jail population from 2606 (outsourcing and main jail population) to 1200 by July 1st of 2010,” Chief Superior Court Judge Doris L. Downs wrote in an email sent Tuesday to Fulton Commissioners.
The Fulton County Jail, which is under federal court order to reduce the jail’s population to some 2200, is the largest single item in the Fulton County Justice System budget. Each day an inmate is held at the jail costs the county a minimum of $72. The county also must pay to house excess inmates above the court-ordered maximum in other Georgia jails.
Fulton justice system officials were notified on Nov. 18 that their portion of the county’s 2010 budget, which begins Jan. 1, would have to be cut by 25 percent or some $55 million. Chief Judge Downs and Fulton County District Attorney Paul L Howard Jr. and other justice system officials responded by saying that absorbing cuts of that magnitude would devastate each agency individually and have unacceptable systemic repercussions.
On Dec. 9, County budget officials returned with a proposal that the criminal justice system be cut by 11.7% or $25.4 million. Meeting almost daily since then justice system officials fashioned a plan that Judge Downs said will meet the county’s goal, if the justice system is allowed to retain current funding levels.
“We are proposing expediting the processing of the criminal cases in the next 6 months so that the jail population is reduced to 1200 inmates by July 1st of 2010. We believe that this goal is attainable but only if we are able to retain our employees and re-engineer the way we work together,” she wrote. “In short, we are prepared to run a marathon to achieve the savings needed through the jail budget. This is the only way we see to achieve savings without crippling our justice system. We cannot run the marathon without our legs---our employees!”
Fulton Commissioners are expected to consider the justice system proposal at a 10 a.m. Wednesday meeting.
Following is the full text of Chief Judge Down’s letter to Commissioners and the justice system’s jail reduction strategy:
As the Administrative Judge of this State's Fifth Judicial District as well as the Chief Judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, I am proposing on behalf of the Fulton County Justice System that we be allowed to present a plan for achieving the budget cuts required of our justice system. Our plan is attached. Our strategy is to dramatically reduce the jail population from 2606 (outsourcing and main jail population) to 1200 by July 1st of 2010.
We are aware that Fulton County is facing a serious budget shortfall. At present, it is my understanding that all County budgets are facing a cut of approximately 1.7% consisting of the unpaid holidays for all employees in 2010. At present, the justice system partners have been asked to cut an additional 10% from their budgets.
The Clerk of the Superior Court will have to eliminate 33 temporary positions and 18 permanent positions ($1.5 million). The District Attorney will have to eliminate 20 temporary positions and 30 permanent positions OR take 48 furlough days (one day each week) which amounts to a 25% pay cut for all DA employees. ($2.2 million) The Public Defender will have to eliminate 15 positions ($1.57 million).The Superior Court will have to eliminate at least 15 employees and as of yet an undetermined number of additional layoffs. We will lose employees in programs that save the county money such as Pretrial, Drug Court, Mental Health Court ($2.475 million).
As you are aware each of the justice agencies are closely connected in that an impact on any one of our budgets impacts our ability as a whole to move the business. We are truly all part of the same pipeline with no control over the numbers of cases coming in. If the 10 percent cuts are taken from each budget in January of 2010, our ability to process the criminal, domestic and civil cases will be significantly affected. This will no doubt result in a sharp increase in the jail population and a sharp increase in costs to the taxpayer. This will certainly not achieve the savings that are needed in the coming year's budget.
We have been meeting non-stop since we learned of the budget shortfall in order to present a plan that will save the county significant money without dismantling our justice system. We are proposing expediting the processing of the criminal cases in the next 6 months so that the jail population is reduced to 1200 inmates by July 1st of 2010. We believe that this goal is attainable but only if we are able to retain our employees and re-engineer the way we work together. If we are forced to eliminate critical employees, the cost to the County will increase with the resulting increase in the jail population.
In short, we are prepared to run a marathon to achieve the savings needed through the jail budget. This is the only way we see to achieve savings without crippling our justice system. We cannot run the marathon without our legs---our employees! Please carefully consider our proposal. We are continuing to meet to improve the proposal. All of us are available if you should have any questions.
Jail Reduction Strategy Guiding Principles
The Fulton County Jail, when built, was widely criticized as being too small for the Fulton County criminal population.
Overcrowding at the jail has led to several lawsuits including the current consent decree.
The inability of the system to dispose of cases has exacerbated the jail overcrowding problem.
The Justice Management Institute, a leading criminal justice system consultant, identified as one of the key elements to lasting system improvement, the need to set goals regarding the Fulton County jail population and composition.
On November 18, 2009, the Fulton County Budget Commission announced that for FY2010 it was expected that current expenditures would drastically exceed expected revenue (-$146 million) requiring an across-the-board 25% reduction in county budgets.
Collectively, the Criminal Justice System was asked to reduce budgetary expenditures by $55 million — translating to 980 positions.
Absorbing cuts of this magnitude would devastate each department individually and have systemic repercussions.
Through exploring other cost-saving mechanisms, the Budget Commission announced on December 9, 2009, the criminal justice system portion of budget reductions would amount to 11.7% or $25.4 million.
This current financial crisis has inspired a willingness among all Fulton County criminal justice agencies to identify systemic ways to save money without adversely impacting individual departments and the criminal justice system.
What follows are the Fulton County Criminal Justice System cost-saving recommendations and strategies.
Jail Reduction Strategy
Remove inmates convicted of state crimes from the Fulton County Jail after a maximum period of ten (10) days.
Eliminate the outsourcing of inmates by February 1, 2010 (savings of $8 million).
Establish jail case processing standards such that each category of inmate has a time frame for housing which cannot be exceeded (see Case Processing Standards).
Implement a Temporary Emergency Court to reduce the jail population by 1,300 inmates by July 1, 2010 (savings of $15 million through food/health contracts and the elimination of vacant positions).
Support the acquisition of the City of Atlanta Jail so that the facility can be used as the initial screening location for defendants and a portion of the facility can be used to create a restitution center where all low-risk Fulton County Jail inmates could be transferred.
Establish a multi-departmental jail reduction team to work with the Sheriff’s staff to monitor the jail population on a daily basis in order to maintain the jail population at 1,200 inmates.
Failure to reduce the jail population as outlined will result in a 10% across-the-board budget reduction for all Fulton County criminal justice agencies beginning July 1, 2010.
Jail Case Processing Standards
Death penalty – 2 years
Maximum Complex Felony Cases – 365 days
Medium Complex Felony Cases – 280 days
Mildly Complex Felony Cases – 120 days
Non Complex Felony Cases – 60 days
Misdemeanor Maximum Complex Violent Cases – 60 days
Misdemeanor Medium Complex Cases – 30 days
All other Misdemeanor cases – 48 hours
Fulton County Criminal Justice Agencies
Doris (Dee) Downs
Chief Judge, Superior Court
Ted Jackson
Sheriff, Fulton County
Cathelene “Tina” Robinson
Clerk, Superior Court
Paul L. Howard, Jr.
District Attorney
Vernon Pitts
Public Defender
Albert Thompson
Chief Judge, State Court
###
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Court Program to Save Fulton $5.5 Million
A tough new pretrial release supervision program that begins April 1 is expected to save Fulton County taxpayers more than $5.5 million a year in jail costs.
The new Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) which was recently funded by the Fulton County Commission will provide rigorous supervision of defendants who don’t qualify for release under existing criteria.
The Superior Court of Fulton County’s Pretrial Services will operate the new program. Over the past decade the Court’s Pretrial Services program has racked up an impressive record of reducing jail costs while ensuring that more than 95 percent of program defendants show up for all scheduled court hearings.
The new ISP will supervise about 150 additional defendants per month.
Candidates for the program are:
Youthful defendants charged with non-violent crimes that the Judiciary deem appropriate for release if heightened supervision is available.
Defendants whose community ties cannot be “verified” or those who have not established a six month residency in the Atlanta metropolitan area
Defendants, with little or no criminal history, charged with property crimes who do not meet normal pretrial release criteria.
Defendants referred to the ISP by a judge
ISP release requirements may include:
In-person office contact twice a week
Weekly field visits to defendant’s home/employer
Curfew
Electronic Monitoring
Seek full-time employment if not already employed.
Attend in-house life skills programs or community service programs.
Be employed or actively seeking employment or school
Defendants without high school diploma must enter GED program
Social service agency referrals where appropriate
Immediate sanctions in response to program infractions
The ISP will immediately notify the Court, District Attorney, and Defense Counsel of any violations of release conditions.
The new Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) which was recently funded by the Fulton County Commission will provide rigorous supervision of defendants who don’t qualify for release under existing criteria.
The Superior Court of Fulton County’s Pretrial Services will operate the new program. Over the past decade the Court’s Pretrial Services program has racked up an impressive record of reducing jail costs while ensuring that more than 95 percent of program defendants show up for all scheduled court hearings.
The new ISP will supervise about 150 additional defendants per month.
Candidates for the program are:
Youthful defendants charged with non-violent crimes that the Judiciary deem appropriate for release if heightened supervision is available.
Defendants whose community ties cannot be “verified” or those who have not established a six month residency in the Atlanta metropolitan area
Defendants, with little or no criminal history, charged with property crimes who do not meet normal pretrial release criteria.
Defendants referred to the ISP by a judge
ISP release requirements may include:
In-person office contact twice a week
Weekly field visits to defendant’s home/employer
Curfew
Electronic Monitoring
Seek full-time employment if not already employed.
Attend in-house life skills programs or community service programs.
Be employed or actively seeking employment or school
Defendants without high school diploma must enter GED program
Social service agency referrals where appropriate
Immediate sanctions in response to program infractions
The ISP will immediately notify the Court, District Attorney, and Defense Counsel of any violations of release conditions.
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